Folks around the internet have been calling for Draymond Green’s suspension since The Stomp™ happened.
Ask and you shall receive. The NBA has officially suspended Green for game 3 of the Warriors’ series against the Kings. The star forward will miss yet another pivotal game for his team because of something that happened that really has nothing to do with basketball.
While most seem to be pretty accepting of the call from the NBA, Charles Barkley doesn’t really seem to be here for it.
Not because he doesn’t think Green deserves to be suspended — that’s actually beside the point for him. Instead, he’s just trying to give the Kings all the credit in the world for just being better than the Warriors so far.
Charles Barkley on the Draymond situation:
"What really bothers me about this whole thing, to be honest with you, we're taking away from the fact that the Sacramento Kings are just kicking their ass."
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 19, 2023
“What really bothers me about this whole thing, to be honest with you, is we’re really taking away from the fact that the Sacramento Kings are just kicking their [expletive].”
And, honestly? Charles is absolutely right. That is going to be the conversation following this suspension.
My colleague, Bryan Kalrbosky, is in agreement with Barkley. He perfectly captured why the suspension takes the air out of things here.
“The Kings enjoyed their first playoff berth since 2006 and are now just two wins away from winning their first postseason series since 2004. They should have that without an asterisk from fans saying they only won because Green was suspended.
I want to see both of these teams play each other at full strength, and with Green sidelined, some fans may issue an excuse if the defending champions lose in the first round.”
It’s hard to disagree here. Yes, the suspension is reasonable. It’s not surprising at all. Personally, I thought the ejection was enough. But there’s not really room to complain about the suspension considering Green’s history.
That said, though, it will take away from how well the Kings have played for some fans should Sacramento win game 3. And that’s a shame.
That’s not something the NBA’s big decision-makers worry about — nor, should they. That’s a fan problem. That said, it’s definitely a problem.
Hopefully, we don’t have to deal with it too much and can still get a good series out of this.
